SCP-401
Item #: SCP-401 Object Class: Euclid Special Containment Procedures: SCP-401 is to be kept in an enclosed courtyard at Site-██. A mural of the landscape of southern France is painted on the walls of the courtyard. Once daily, personnel are to locate at least ten roots which will be fed a total of 15 L of nutritional supplement 401-NS-4 and to remove any solid waste produced. An EKG is to constantly monitor SCP-401 for any anomalies (refer to Incident 401-1 for details). Female personnel are not to enter the courtyard at any time between March 15 and April 1, under any circumstances. Description: SCP-401 was discovered near the French city of ██████ when agents responded to reports of the ground bleeding. When led to the site, investigators found a human mouth embedded in the soil, licking away the remaining blood with a long prehensile tongue. It was not until a week later that agents realized that the mouth was part of the root structure of what at first appeared to be a forty (40) meter tall dead eucalyptus tree with branches shaped like multi-jointed human arms. The white colour of the trunk, originally suggesting that the tree was dead, was found to be because the bark was made of human bone tissue. It was given SCP status and excavated from the area, to be transported to Site-██. SCP-401 resembles an ordinary tree in form and function. However, human physiology is substituted for plant biology in the fulfillment of necessary processes. The trunk is supported by multiple vertebral columns, woven together by tendons and muscles and coated by a layer of rough bone tissue also held together by flexible tendons. As one goes higher, the trunk will split repeatedly until there is a single vertebral column supporting the rest of the structure. At the base of the trunk are multiple human hearts which pump blood and nutrients through the roots and branches. The roots themselves are esophagi, protected by a layer of cartilage reminiscent of the trachea. At the end of each root is a fully formed upper and lower jaw, complete with muscles, lips, and the prehensile tongue first witnessed by agents in the field. The tongue seems to be used as a digging implement and as a snare for food, ranging from burrowing animals to edible fungi and plants. All of these roots ultimately lead to a single stomach. This, along with a fully functional, though unusually long, intestinal tract, work to absorb ingested nutrients. Solid waste is eliminated through a sphincteral orifice on the side of the trunk. No roots are found in the area immediately beneath this spot. The branches, as initial observations suggested, are human arms. They extrude themselves from the bony trunk but have no bark themselves. Some will split at the elbow so that they may have two or even three forearms. The palms of its hands all face upward and the tip of each finger has a human eye growing from it. The iris of each eye is hazel. Dissection of the eyes shows that they are all myopic, though they do react to light stimuli as a normal eye would. Though the chemical process is not yet understood, the retinas carry on a form of photosynthesis which transforms carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and glucose. It is generally agreed that the eyes are myopic in order to prevent excessive damage to the retina from direct sunlight. Chemical analysis of the lungs shows that there is a higher oxygen content when SCP-401 exhales than when it inhales. During spring, SCP-401 will go into bloom. Though it is genetically a human male, it will grow female sexual organs. The vaginal openings are located on the palms of its hands, with canals extending 18 cm along each wrist to a bulge which contains a fully formed uterus and ovaries. Five days after the formation of the organs, menstruation occurs, at which point male sexual organs begin to develop in their place over a period of ten days. Once fully formed, they will remain for one day before they are shed and eaten by the roots. During this phase, SCP-401 will attack human females for the purpose of reproduction.